Chelsea boss Frank Lampard provides blunt response to Didier Drogba's 'I don’t recognise my club' claim after 2-0 Real Madrid defeat
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard offered a curt reply when asked to respond to Didier Drogba’s comments after Tuesday’s (April 18) defeat to Real Madrid.
Real Madrid secured a 2-0 win in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night. The victory saw Los Blancos proceed to the semi-finals with a comfortable 4-0 aggregate scoreline.
After the game, Blues legend Drogba claimed that he did not recognize his club, criticizing new owner Todd Boehley for building a bloated squad.
Drogba told Canal+:
“I don’t recognise my club. It’s no longer the same club. There is a new owner and a new vision. Of course, we try to compare it with what happened during the [Roman] Abramovich era where a lot of players were brought in, but the decisions were very intelligent.
“The strategy is now different; we bet on young players. But a dressing room of over 30 players is difficult [to manage] for a manager.”
Lampard, who has been installed as Chelsea’s caretaker manager for the remainder of the campaign, was asked to comment on Drogba’s assessment. The Englishman reserved his comments, hinting that he did not agree with his former teammate.
Lampard said (via Express Sport):
“They're Didier's comments, sorry.”
Lampard has endured an abysmal start to his interim career at Stamford. He has suffered defeats in all four games he has managed since taking over earlier in April. Having been eliminated from the Champions League, the 11th-placed Blues will return to Premier League action with a clash against Brentford on April 26.
Rodrygo bagged a brace as Real Madrid secured a straightforward win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
Needing to score at least two goals to push the game into penalties, Chelsea started brightly at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night. Star midfielder N’Golo Kante got a golden opportunity to reduce the deficit in the 10th minute, but the Frenchman sliced his effort wide of the mark. In first-half stoppage time, Marc Cucurella had another excellent opportunity to score but could not find his way past Thibaut Courtois.
Having failed to impress much in the first half, Real Madrid bounced back strongly in the second 45. In the 58th minute, Real Madrid hit the Blues on the break, with Rodrygo scoring a tap-in upon receiving a perfect return from Vinicius Junior. The Brazilian right-winger doubled his money in the 80th minute. This time, Federico Valverde supplied him with a perfectly-weighted layoff.
The second goal took the wind out of Cheslea’s sails as the club failed to create even a single chance in the last 10 minutes of the game.
Defending champions Real Madrid are set to meet either Manchester City or Bayern Munich in the semi-finals in May.